Thinking as a Procedure not a Level
Bloom’s taxonomy is a useful tool to understand the ‘levels’ that students think at. The conventional wisdom is that students move through the levels as they achieve mastery at ‘lower’ levels. In the year 2000, Marzano challenged that notion suggesting that there are different thinking processes rather than a hierarchical system. Different skills are needed for different purposes. For example, a student may need to recall a math fact. In a different setting, she may need to understand why it is important to eat healthy food. The study of synonyms may need to be applied to a writing assignment on word choice. A survey may need to be analyzed to make sense of it. Numerous ideas can be synthesized into a piece of fiction writing. Finally, a student may need to evaluate how useful a book is for research.
Viewing Bloom’s taxonomy as thinking procedures for specific goals rather than as a hierarchical framework, allows us to mindfully match an aspect of the cognitive domain with a particular performance assessment for one of the essential elements. Students should have exposure to a variety of assessments that address all six aspects of Bloom’s cognitive domain. By charting these on a matrix against the essential elements of the PYP, teachers will be able track the variety of procedures that students are exposed to each unit while ensuring that the student sees the connection between the goal and the procedure.
Bloom’s taxonomy is a useful tool to understand the ‘levels’ that students think at. The conventional wisdom is that students move through the levels as they achieve mastery at ‘lower’ levels. In the year 2000, Marzano challenged that notion suggesting that there are different thinking processes rather than a hierarchical system. Different skills are needed for different purposes. For example, a student may need to recall a math fact. In a different setting, she may need to understand why it is important to eat healthy food. The study of synonyms may need to be applied to a writing assignment on word choice. A survey may need to be analyzed to make sense of it. Numerous ideas can be synthesized into a piece of fiction writing. Finally, a student may need to evaluate how useful a book is for research.
Viewing Bloom’s taxonomy as thinking procedures for specific goals rather than as a hierarchical framework, allows us to mindfully match an aspect of the cognitive domain with a particular performance assessment for one of the essential elements. Students should have exposure to a variety of assessments that address all six aspects of Bloom’s cognitive domain. By charting these on a matrix against the essential elements of the PYP, teachers will be able track the variety of procedures that students are exposed to each unit while ensuring that the student sees the connection between the goal and the procedure.
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